After a period of research and understanding market demand, Lang Chanh Safe and Organic Agriculture Cooperative (Chieng Khat village, Dong Luong commune) has brought papaya flowers to experimental planting in some communes and towns in the district. The initial results have been positive, opening up a new direction in local agricultural production.
Papaya flower growing model of households in Tri Nang commune.
In order to increase the value of the cultivated land area, Mr. Ngan Duc Hanh's family, Hac village, Tri Nang commune, boldly brought papaya trees to plant on an area of 1.5 hectares. After nearly 1 year of care, the trees are now growing well, free of pests and diseases, with even flowers, plump buds, many branches and have yielded 2 harvests of flowers.
Mr. Ngan Duc Hanh said: "With the first batch of 300 flowers, I picked 30kg of flowers (average yield of 0.1kg/1 tree, price 28,000 to 30,000 VND/1kg), I earned nearly 1 million VND (after 2 hours of harvesting). Each harvest is about 1 week apart, depending on the time. From the second batch onwards, the tree will yield about 0.5kg/tree... In the following years, trees with many branches will yield 1 - 2kg of flowers/batch... On average, each year, 1 hectare will yield about 20 tons of fresh flowers. With the contract price of 30,000 VND/1kg, after deducting costs, the profit will be over 150 million VND".
In Chieng Khat village in the same commune, Ms. Ha Thi Tam also decided to plant 1 hectare of papaya trees for flowers. After nearly 3 months, the first batch of flowers was harvested, each harvest about 1 month apart. Ms. Tam said: "Papaya for flowers is easy to grow and care for, suitable for hilly land, has few pests and diseases, so it is suitable for the production level of most local people. Initially, my family planted it only for use, but since 2022, some medicinal enterprises have had a great demand for male papaya flowers, so I converted 1 hectare of low-yielding crops to this new crop. Currently, fresh flower products after harvest are consumed stably, with economic efficiency surpassing that of other crops."
Mr. Vi Van Thu, Vice Chairman of Tri Nang Commune People's Committee, said: "Implementing the resolution of the District People's Council on developing medicinal plants, the commune has actively promoted propaganda and mobilized people to switch to growing medicinal plants with high economic efficiency to replace acacia and sugarcane with low economic efficiency. Currently, the commune has planted over 40 hectares of papaya flowers, opening up a new direction in agricultural production, increasing income for people, especially poor households."
According to research, previously, households in Lang Chanh district only planted papaya trees for flowers scattered in the garden, mainly to serve the needs of the family and often used fresh papaya flowers for food, the economic value was not high. Realizing that this is a promising production development model, bringing stable income to the people, Lang Chanh Safe and Organic Agriculture Cooperative has coordinated with Tri Nang, Dong Luong, Tan Phuc, Giao An, Giao Thien, Yen Khuong, Yen Thang communes, Lang Chanh town to plant papaya trees for flowers with a total area of about 18 hectares. Due to preferential policies from the stage of buying seeds to care, harvesting, and output consumption, people are assured of production. In the coming time, the Cooperative will invest in building factories, buying machinery to dry and process papaya flowers, creating branded products, ensuring quality, participating in OCOP products. At the same time, continue to expand the area of papaya flower cultivation in communes and towns in the district, helping farmers to sustainably eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.
Article and photos: Tran Giang
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